The Congress of Vienna A Study in Allied Unity: 1812-1822

by Nicolson, Sir Harold

• ISBN13: 9780802137449
• ISBN10: 080213744X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-13
• Publisher: Grove Press

Summary

In 1812, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, a congress convened in Vienna in which the fate of Europe was to be determined for the next hundred years. Attending were the great statesmen of the time -- the wily French foreign minister, Talleyrand; his brave but misguided British counterpart, Lord Castlereagh; the conservative Austrian chancellor, Prince Metternich; and the idealistic but unstable tsar Alexander. Beginning with Napoleon's harrowing retreat from Moscow, the pace of the narrative holds throughout the negotiations in the Austrian capital, where the power struggle to both restore a lost world and ensure a stable future took place. Harold Nicolson's classic is narrative history at its best. "With swift pace, clear focus and a series of brilliant character sketches, this is narrative history at its best." -- The New York Times

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
The Retreat from Moscow	3	(14)
``The Revival of Prussia''	17	(15)
The Intervention of Austria	32	(16)
The Frankfurt Proposals	48	(16)
The Advent of Castlereagh	64	(19)
The First Peace of Paris	83	(19)
London Interlude	102	(17)
The Congress Assembles	119	(15)
The Problem of Procedure	134	(14)
The Approach to the Polish Problem	148	(16)
The Polish Negotiations	164	(18)
The Italian and German Settlements	182	(18)
General Questions	200	(19)
The Second Peace of Paris	219	(21)
The Holy Alliance	240	(17)
The Failure of the Conference System	257	(18)
Appendix I: Notes	275	(22)
Appendix II: List of Books Consulted	297	(4)
Index	301